That's why, working with our military leaders, I have proposed a new 
defense strategy that ensures we maintain the finest military in the 
world, while saving nearly half a trillion dollars in our budget. To 
stay one step ahead of our adversaries, I have already sent this 
Congress legislation that will secure our country from the growing 
danger of cyber-threats. 

Above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform 
who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they 
served us. That includes giving them the care and benefits they have 
earned – which is why we've increased annual VA spending every year 
I've been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work 
of rebuilding our Nation. 

With the bipartisan support of this Congress, we are providing new tax 
credits to companies that hire vets. Michelle and Jill Biden have worked 
with American businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans 
and their families. And tonight, I'm proposing a Veterans Job Corps 
that will help our communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters, 
so that America is as strong as those who defend her. 

Which brings me back to where I began. Those of us who've been sent 
here to serve can learn from the service of our troops. When you put on 
that uniform, it doesn't matter if you're black or white; Asian or 
Latino; conservative or liberal; rich or poor; gay or straight. When 
you're marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, 
or the mission fails. When you're in the thick of the fight, you rise 
or fall as one unit, serving one Nation, leaving no one behind. 

One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with 
them on the mission to get bin Laden. On it are each of their names. 
Some may be Democrats. Some may be Republicans. But that doesn't 
matter. Just like it didn't matter that day in the Situation Room, 
when I sat next to Bob Gates – a man who was George Bush's defense 
secretary; and Hillary Clinton, a woman who ran against me for 
president. 

All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about 
politics. No one thought about themselves. One of the young men involved 
in the raid later told me that he didn't deserve credit for the mission. 
It only succeeded, he said, because every single member of that unit did 
their job – the pilot who landed the helicopter that spun out of 
control; the translator who kept others from entering the compound; the 
troops who separated the women and children from the fight; the SEALs 
who charged up the stairs. More than that, the mission only succeeded 
because every member of that unit trusted each other – because you 
can't charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know 
that there's someone behind you, watching your back. 

So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I'm reminded